Top Republicans are criticizing the Congressional Budget Office for its new analysis of the American Health Care Act, which indicates that as many as 23 million people could lost their health insurance coverage under the GOP’s reform bill. HHS Secretary Tom Price, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and others said the CBO report failed to take into consideration the deteriorating Obamacare marketplace and the death spiral in which Obama’s signature health law is now circling.
“The CBO was wrong when they analyzed Obamacare’s effect on cost and coverage, and they are wrong again,” Price said on Thursday. “In reality, Americans are paying more for fewer healthcare choices because of Obamacare – and that’s why the Trump administration is committed to reforming healthcare.”
Price said that, according to a second analysis done within the Health and Human Services Department, “premiums in the individual market have more than doubled since many of Obamacare’s regulations and mandates were implemented.”
Speaker Ryan emphasized similar themes. “Under Obamacare, premiums have more than doubled,” he said, “and choices have dwindled to the point that many families have no options at all.”
Ryan said there was simply no time to wait around and debate the various merits of various healthcare plans for another couple of years.
“We are on a rescue mission to bring down the cost of coverage and make sure families have access to affordable care,” he said. “This CBO report again confirms that the American Health Care Act achieves our mission: lowering premiums and lowering the deficit. It is another positive step toward keeping our promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.”
Senate Republicans have already said they are going to basically rewrite the House bill from scratch, so it’s not clear if the CBO report really makes that much difference. If and when the Senate comes up with their version of the bill, an independent score will make a lot more sense and will be taken a lot more seriously by both Republicans and Democrats. For now, the CBO report is little more than a political weapon for the left to use in their ongoing mission to save Obamacare.
What they need to realize – or, at least, what their voters need to realize – is that there IS NO SAVING OBAMACARE. It cannot be saved and it should not be saved. It is dying, and it’s taking businesses, hospitals, doctors, and middle class families down with it. It must be repealed, regardless of whether or not we have the perfect bill to replace it with.
